China has invited Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to attend the 12th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which will be held in Beijing on June 6-7.

Making the announcement at a regular press briefing on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei added that it is common practice for China to invite the president of Iran, an observer nation to the SCO.

President Hu Jintao will chair the meeting, and leaders from SCO member states and observer countries, as well as guests of China and heads of international organizations will attend.

The SCO, founded on June 15, 2001, groups China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.